Obama's day: Staff discussions

So far, at least, President Obama has a low-key public schedule for Thursday.

The only event listed is a mid-afternoon meeting of senior advisers, and that is closed to the press.

Of course, that could always change. Obama had a largely blank schedule on Wednesday, and wound up making the stunning announcement that the United States is normalizing relations with communist foe Cuba after more than 50 years of tensions, the result of 18 months of secret negotiations.

The president and aides will probably be dealing with fallout from that announcement on Thursday. White House officials are also preparing for the normal end-of-the-year slowdown.

Obama and his family leave Friday for their annual holiday in Hawaii.